The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews

The Boy Who Steals Houses is a poignant novel about two broken, abandoned boys trying to find a place to belong, and the younger brother who desperately wants to protect his sibling. It’s both a sweet love story between two teenagers with tough pasts and an emotional journey to find people to call family. 

Sammy Lou is a fifteen-year-old boy who has been betrayed and abused by everyone who should take care of him and his older brother Avery who is autistic. Kicked out from his aunt’s house, he does the only thing he can to stay off the streets each night, look after his older brother and create something that reminds him of a home – he steals houses.
 
“I had nowhere to go, he wants to say. I’m the boy of nothing and nowhere. I’m invisible and forgotten, a thief of dust and cobwebs and house keys.”
 
But when Sammy steals a house that is occupied and is still there when the owners return, he somehow finds himself swept up in the big, loud and busy family who lives there. (So busy that they fail to realise they have another live-in friend to the kids.) He also finds himself falling in love with the daughter in the house, Moxie.

Sammy is a somewhat unreliable main character. He makes a lot of bad choices, some that really raises questions of morality, and he has severe trust issues that make him hold back and miss out on chances for happiness. But it broke my heart to learn about his story of abuse and neglect, and how he still kept himself going and taking care of his demanding brother. I just so much wanted to hug him and tell him that everything is going to be fine.
 
The plot is told through present tense with some flashbacks to ‘before’ when Sam and Avery had a home. These flashbacks all held a mystery surrounding Sam and something illegal he’s committed, causing him to run from the police. But when the mystery was finally revealed at the end, it was quite underwhelming unfortunately. But I absolutely loved the family that Sammy strangely became a part of (even though some parts of how that came to be and the reaction when he was found out was slightly unrealistic), how loving and caring the dad was and the fun banter going on between the siblings. Finally Sammy got a taste of what a home and a family really means. And the romance that starts to blossom was so sweet.
 
“I like your eyes,” she says. “They look like infinite blue skies of possibilities.”

The Boy Who Steals Houses is not an easy read; in fact, it’s the absolute opposite of cute and fluffy. It’s a complex and emotionally devastating story that contains abuse, homelessness, betrayal and violence. But it’s also a story about the importance of support, family and belonging, and a story full of hope that will end up stealing your heart the same way Sammy steals houses.

Rating:
4 stars

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​Author info:
C.G. Drews